We’ve already covered the frshly announced Ikan PIVOT 3-axis gimbal in this article. Now, at NAB 2018 in Las Vegas we had the chance to take a closer look at it. Natalie Cheng from Ikan walked us through this little, yet powerful, gimbal.
This little guy can hold (and operate) cameras with a weight of up to 8lbs (3,63kg)! Since that’s gonna be quite tough to hold, you can get order a additional dual handgrip as an accessory.
Ikan PIVOT 3-Axis Gimbal
The market for handheld 3-axis gimbal systems gets quite crowded these days. Manufacturers need to have some nice trick up their sleeves in order to attrackt potential customers. In Ikan’s case it is the high maximum payload of the Ikan PIVOT gimbal. It can hold up to 8lbs. As you can see in the vdeo above they’ve managed to operate a Canon C200 with it. Since this camera weights 3.2lbs (1,5 kg) you should be able to add a lens, a baseplate, some 15mm rods and even a wireless focus of some kind. Very neat!
The gimbal itself comes as a classic gimbal-on-a-stick with an angled roll axis in order to preserve a plain view on the back of the camera. Since this gimbal is meant to be used with small mirrorless cameras as well as DSLRs and even bigger cameras, such as the Canon C200, this concept might get pretty fatiguing pretty quickly. In order to distribute the weight a little more evenly, you can get the optional DGH dual grip handle from Ikan.
Ikan PIVOT gimgal with attached dual grip handle.
This grip handle comes with two little feet which provide a safe stand for your whole gimbal setup. For controlling the device you can download an app from the app store or the Google play store. With this app you can adjust all settings, e.g. the motor controls, comfortably from your smartphone.
Pricing and Availability
The Ikan PIVOT is available now and it costs around $750. Natalie reports that they just ran out of inventory but more PIVOTs are heading their way already so these should be available really soon.
This gimbal seems to be a very interesting device for indie filmmakers. A compact but very powerful handheld gimbal that even holds a camera in the league of a C200 or similarly sized camera? Pretty cool!
Links: Ikancorp.com
Do you think this could be a good addition to your gear bag? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

With an integrated lightweight structure, good battery life, innovative balancing system and higher payload, the Nebula 4100 is probably the most flexible of the 3-axis Nebula gimbals.
Filmpower has been designing film-making equipment since 2010, and was behind “the first full metal gyroscope stabilizer in the world” – the Nebula 5000, back in NAB 2014. Since then, Nebula gimbals have become a valid tool for many independent filmmakers requiring a hand-held gyroscope stabilizer for their productions.
The Nebula 4100 is the newest in the line of one-handed stabilizers, and offers some cool features that can definitely make a filmmaker’s life easier, especially in one-man-band productions.
Main features and improvements
Weight and payload
At 700g, the Nebula 4100 Slant weights less than previous models, and is the most compact gimbal in the whole Nebula series. Furthermore, the payload of the gimbal is higher (1.8kg), thus supporting a variety of mirrorless cameras.
Balancing mechanism
The balancing mechanism is straightforward, and the whole process of balancing the camera is faster and easier thanks to its 3 points (gravity center, pitch point and roll point).
No screen blocking
Although not an improvement specific to this model, this is a very important feature when shooting with one-handed 3-axis gimbal since it gets over the painful limitation of having the camera screen blocked by the gimbal while shooting.
Integrated structure
The new integrated structure design has helped expedite the time-consuming process of assembling the gimbal. In the words of Filmpower: “Just open the box, mount the camera and go shooting”.
Double side use
This feature is useful when shooting with a camera with a flipped screen. It improves the shooting experience, making it much more comfortable and efficient.
Instant manual adjustment
The Nebula 4100 Slant allows to manually change the position of the camera to different views while shooting, and thus change the shooting angle.
Auto face-tracking
This very cool feature enables face-tracking with the help of the dedicated iPhone app. There are a few face-tracking applications out there, so it is worth waiting to see the accuracy and speed in the case of Filmpower’s application.
Battery life
Filmpower claims major improvements on battery life. The Nebula 4100 Slant smart battery promises 8-10 hours of life, meaning one can shoot all day long without the need of replacing the battery.
Specs:
High-Torque motors with built-in encoders
1.8kg camera payload
700g weight
8-10 hours battery life
Supports direct charge
Ergonomic handle
Hidden cable design
360° unlimited rotation for all 3 axes
Joystick, one key recording, one key back to the midpoint
Fore more detailed spec information check our the screenshot below.
I feel that these 3-axis one-handed gimbals impair freedom of movement and kinetics. Personally, I love to shoot with a steadicam to get a much more organic movement, but what about you? Would you consider using this gimbal? Let us know in the comments below.

DJI is aiming straight at the mobile & DSLR/mirrorless market with two new single-handed stabilizers. Meet DJI Osmo Mobile 2 and DJI Ronin-S, both of which will be presented at CES 2018 in Las Vegas.
Osmo Mobile 2 – an improved handheld smartphone camera stabilizer
The Osmo Mobile 2 has a lightweight design, a built-in three-axis gimbal and supports pivoting between landscape and portrait orientation (by the two-way mobile clamp). DJI’s SmoothTrack technology detects how you are moving the camera and compensates, so it becomes a smoother, more “cinematic” shot. On top of that, user experience has been improved and all the controls have been simplified. DJI claims it’s now more similar to operating “a professional camera”.
Design that supports switching between landscape and portrait orientation
According to DJI, one of the main advantages is the battery life that goes up to 15 hours, since the Osmo Mobile 2 is equipped with a more powerful built-in battery system. That is a significant achievement compared to the 5 hours in the original Osmo Mobile’s battery.
The product has also some cool capabilities shooting various styles like panoramic, time-lapse, motionlapse, hyperlapse, slow-mo and Zoom Control. Zoom Control is a built-in zoom slider that lets you completely operate your smartphone camera from the handle with a more fluid, cinematic zoom.
For more info, check out the product’s web page.
Ronin-S – DJI’s first single-handed stabilizer for DSLR and mirrorless cameras
The Ronin S is DJI’s first 3-axis stabilizer for both mirrorless and DSLR cameras. According to DJI, the Ronin-S supports Canon 5D, Panasonic GH and Sony Alpha systems with a wide combinations of lenses.
What is special about the Ronin-S is that it is compatible with other DJI Pro Accessories and can thereby become the center of a whole ecosystem. The Ronin-S has multiple accessory mounts, providing support for add-ons such as a microphone, an LED light and a wireless video transmitter, making this stabilizer upgradable for more demanding tasks. In this sense, it seems similar to what Tilta is doing with its Gravity G1 Gimbal.
Multiple accessory mounts are allocated on the Ronin-S, providing support for add-ons
Pricing and Availability
Osmo Mobile 2 retails for $129 USD (a very good price point compared to the old model!).
Ronin-S will become available in the second quarter of 2018. Pricing will be announced prior to availability.
Leading companies like DJI are seeing a huge market in consumers who want to become more professional at filmmaking with easy-to-use tools which have evolved from more expensive and higher-end pro products. We saw that with the Freefly’s Movi that made some decent buzz, and DJI is following in a very similar path, releasing more and more consumer products.
What do you think of DJI’s new gimbals? Do you see yourself using them in your own productions? Let us know in the comments.

The new Came-TV Prophet and Spry gimbals for small cameras and smartphones feature removable heads for a variety of setups.
Back in April at NAB, Came-TV announced a couple of gimbals that would be ready to ship later in the year. Now that they are finally shipping, let’s take a closer look!
Came-TV Prophet
The Came-TV Prophet is a 3-axis gimbal designed for DSLR and mirrorless cameras. In terms of design, it is the successor to the Came-TV Argo.
Unlike the Argo, the Prophet comes a with a single-handed grip as standard. However, thanks to the interchangeable design of the gimbal head, you can purchase additional mounts as necessary, such as the two-handed handlebar, the Orbit-Two Ring or the Tessera handle, which adds a 4th axis of stabilisation thanks to its spring-loaded mechanism.
The Came-TV Prophet in its various confirurations.
The motors on the Prophet support full 360° of movement, and the pan motor on the side can be configured on either side of the camera for maximum flexibility. In terms of weight, the single-handed version of the Prophet comes in at 1.65kg, with a maximum payload of 3kg, or 6.6lb.
When it comes to power, Came-TV has designed the gimbal to work with Sony BP-style batteries, and can run up to 10 hours on a single charge. If you want to get additional batteries, be aware that the originals from Sony can get quite expensive and, although there are also cheaper 3rd-party options, they are still more pricey than the more commonly-available NP-style.
The Came-TV gimbal is also compatible with the Manfrotto 501PL quick-release plate system, making it easier to go from tripod to gimbal without the extra time needed to switch plates.
Came-TV Spry
The Came-TV Spry in its various configurations.
If, on the other hand, you prefer to shoot with a smartphone and smaller cameras, the Came-TV Spry may be a good option. Similar to the Prophet, the Spry aims for flexibility, but rather than changing the type of handle, what it offers is various mounts for different kinds of cameras.
The Came-TV Spry includes a mount for compact cameras such as the Sony RX100, or any similarly-sized camera with a maximum weight of up to around 500g, or 1.1lb. When shooting with a Sony camera, however, four buttons on the handle of the gimbal will allow you to control zoom, focus and photo shutter or video record when using the included cable.
Came-TV Spry with the Sony RX100.
The Spry also includes an action-cam mount for GoPros, as well as a clamp for smartphones. The Bluetooth remote control included with the gimbal also allows you to control camera functions via the BT Shutter app available for both Android and iOS.
Like the Prophet, the Spry allows for a full 360° range of motion, and has a pan motor that can be configured on either side of the camera.
In the market for a small gimbal? What do you think of these new products from Came-TV? Let us know in the comments below.

As the owner of a rental house, Stewart Addison has seen the rise in popularity of gimbals first hand. But could this device be considered as revolutionary to filmmaking as the humble tripod? Here’s his thoughts.
Many filmmakers can point to the tripod as the tool that set them on the path to serious filmmaking. Regardless of camera or lens or codec, a properly-used, good-quality fluid head and legs can be the defining line between a professional-looking piece and an amateur one. Once filmmakers learn this, many of us never leave home without one. In 2017 though, the tripod isn’t alone on this pedestal anymore (nice pun).
Just as tripod affordability made unintentionally shaky video unacceptable, increasing user-friendliness and expansion of gimbals into most budget sizes has made smooth camera movement a necessary offering for any production. How the gimbal got to such a ubiquitous place, just as the positive and negative consequences of it, cannot be ignored.
From Steadicam to Gimbals – How We Got Here
The brushless 3-axis gimbals we know today are a natural extension of the Steadicam, which is itself a relatively new addition to the filmmaking landscape. American cinematographer Garrett Brown first came up with the idea of the Steadicam in the early 1970’s, but it wasn’t until the end of that decade that its implementation would be fully realized. Films like Bound for Glory, Rocky and The Shining cemented the Steadicam’s place in cinema history, untethering cameras from the tripods, tracks, or cranes they had been previously bound to. Most importantly, the Steadicam allowed filmmakers to begin thinking of camera movement in a different way.
Ronin 2
But before moving to motorized gimbals, let’s rewind a little bit. The concept of a gimbal isn’t new at all. In fact, it’s over a thousand years old. BC Greeks conceived it for pottery while Chinese inventors came up with a similar design for burning incense. Since then, gimbals have been used throughout history on everything from early navigation systems to rocket engines. I don’t know how much this information will impact your filmmaking life, but it’s interesting to think about.
Moving on!
Nino Leitner operating the MoVI M10
2013 is when everything changed. The MoVi M5 and M10 made brushless motorized gimbals a reality and were announced to major hype. For the first time, filmmakers were given access to beautiful Steadicam shots at a reduced price and with less required expertise, but MoVi was only the beginning. Rival companies began offering even less expensive gimbals in the MoVi mold. Most notably, DJI released the Ronin line, which has become the other dominant force in the gimbal industry.
All of these changes, of course, are being propelled by the emergence of drones, which also use gimbal technology for stabilization. Within two years of the MoVi announcement, filmmakers were offered truly inexpensive gimbal options with the DJI Osmo. The Gimbal shot was now available to filmmakers of every budget, making it hard to avoid seeing video content that didn’t employ a gimbal in some way. From commercials to YouTube videos, the saturation of gimbals in the filmmaking market has put a premium on smooth camera movement. Hell, even vloggers are taking advantage of being able to finally be able to walk, talk and film with ease now.
DJI Osmo
Note: As the owner of a rental house, I’ve seen skyrocketing gimbal use firsthand. The freedom gimbals have given filmmakers in just a few short years is amazing. There is, however, a learning curve. Yes, gimbals are easier to operate than a Steadicam, but balancing a MoVi or a Ronin takes time and practice. I’ve had many a frustrated customer return a ‘faulty’ Ronin on the basis that the gimbal wouldn’t work properly, when upon inspection, it simply wasn’t balanced correctly. Know your gear, filmmakers!
The gimbals have arrived, but now comes the real question.
What Do We Do Now?
Gimbal shots are all the rage. Why wouldn’t they be? Anyone paying for video work can see what smooth movement can bring to a project. This isn’t nuanced like color science – a good gimbal shot can be flashy in a way that makes someone pause from their social media scrolling. In today’s video world, that’s worth real money. On the filmmaker’s end, gimbals can be a less-expensive way to add real production value to your limited budget. The benefits are all around.
When I say that gimbals are the new tripod, I don’t mean that they’re replacing tripods. Like tripods, gimbals are becoming a mandatory item for filmmakers to be familiar with and know how to use. Also like tripods, they offer a fairly easy learning curve and don’t require the kind of specialization their Steadicam counterparts did.
Finally, and most importantly, both gimbals and tripods come at such a wide price range that filmmakers can evolve with them. Much like a filmmaker who starts with a $200 tripod to learn framing and basic camera movement and then advances to a $12,000 tripod for the smoothest, most perfectly-timed shots, a filmmaker beginning on an Osmo today could be ready for a MoVi in a year or so.
Zhiyun Crane – a popular one-handed gimbal
It’s also worth mentioning that, again like tripods, just because we can gimbal the hell out of a shoot doesn’t mean we should. The market is already saturated with the gimbal look, meaning that filmmakers still have to be good at other things. Camera motion for camera motion’s sake looks silly, and there’s an abundance of it out there, similar to the shallow depth of field craze when the Canon 5D MKII video mode arrived where everything was shot positively wide open. You still have to be a well-rounded filmmaker to make gimbals work for you. If you have the kind of awareness and restraint to know when motion is needed and when it isn’t, gimbals are a godsend.
Are gimbals necessary for every shoot? Absolutely not. Neither are tripods, technically, but I’m sure you’ve kept one with you even when you didn’t think you’d need it. For filmmakers trying to capture attention in the scrolling world of social media video, or those trying to attract bigger clients with something impressive, or for filmmakers trying to emulate Scorsese’s infamous Copacabana Steadicam tracking shot in Goodfellas, a gimbal is not only a necessary piece of gear to have access to, but a necessary one to master as well.
Keep it next to your tripod.
The Counter-Argument
Conversely, maybe I could argue that gimbals have become a style – and styles fade, don’t they?
Yes, gimbals offer affordable solutions to the type of camera movements filmmakers have wanted to make for a century. Those movements, however, aren’t often as nuanced as the movements you make on a tripod or slider. Gimbal smoothness is instantly identifiable in the finished product. A gimbal shot almost always makes the camera appear to float, relies on a wide-angle lens to make focusing easier and often features low or high angles that gimbals have unique access to. In other words, gimbal shots have a look. If that look doesn’t change, isn’t refined or doesn’t develop over time, the gimbal shot could face the same fate as the 70’s zoom, rarely seen today due to its dated affect. If that’s the case, then gimbals aren’t necessary, they are a luxury, one we perhaps shouldn’t be overly excited to embrace.
MōVI Pro
Ultimately, though, I don’t honestly think this is the case. Gimbals can be used subtly, and their usefulness as a potential time-saver means filmmakers will find new ways to keep them relevant. The Steadicam certainly didn’t peak in 1983, and I doubt gimbals will peak now – on the contrary, the technology is still only developing, something that is plain to see with the likes of the Ronin 2 and MōVI Pro, game changers that are really pushing the technological boundaries.
How often do you deploy gimbals in your productions? Do you think they should be a part of every filmmaker’s arsenal? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Filmpower — the company behind the popular Nebula gimbals — have announced the new Nebula 5100 Slant 3-axis gimbal, a new line of shotgun microphones and a wireless follow focus system.
Nebula 5100 Slant
A couple of years ago, the Nebula 4000 from Filmpower was one of the many popular choices among a new breed of affordable 3-axis gimbal stabilisers for DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. A few incarnations later, the Nebula 5100 (covered HERE) offered amazing battery life, time-lapse support, unlimited rotation on all axis and strong encoded motors that needed very little balancing. The newest model, the Nebula 5100 Slant, has already been announced, coming only a few months after the original 5100 and offering some interesting structural improvements.
The Slant part of the name refers to the new design of the roll-axis arm, which now sits at a 45-degree angle from the camera rather than totally perpendicular behind the screen. According to Filmpower, not only does this improve the overall rigidity of the unit, but it also allows for a heavier total payload: the 900g Nebula 5100 Slant can take camera systems up to 3.2kg — a whole 700g more than its predecessor. Additionally, the new design allows for a clear view of your camera’s rear LCD monitor for easier use.
The Nebula 5100 Slant is available now for $999, and includes a Vono Shotgun Lite microphone described below.
Vono Shotgun Microphone
Vono Shotgun Lite
Filmpower have also announced a shotgun microphone series for DSLR use. The company claims the Vono Shotgun is capable of a achieving stereophonic recording thanks to its two “mutually perpendicular sound heads with double audio frequency”.
The Vono is available in two versions. The Vono Shotgun Lite ($60) is a compact version with a 3.5mm connector, and a hot shoe mount that also serves as a housing for the control switches. The Vono Shotgun Pro ($300) on the other hand is a longer microphone that seems to connect via XLR, and comes with a padded hard case. Both mics feature a metal housing with a shock-absorbing design, and come with both a foam and a fluffy wind cover.
Vono Shotgun Pro
Nebula Focus
Filmpower are also releasing a new follow-focus system specially designed to work with gimbal stabilisers. The Nebula Focus is designed to mount on the camera’s hot shoe and directly over the lens, though you can also use it in a more common configuration on rails. The motor enclosure also houses the wireless receiver, making for a 2-in-1 solution that keeps things compact.
The Focus also offers ultrasonic distance measurement, with readings appearing instantly on a display on the thumb controller. Filmpower claims this feature may be updated in the future to support auto focus via the unit itself rather than in-camera.
The Nebula Focus is available for $650.
For more information regarding the new products, visit filmpower.us.
Have you used products from Filmpower in the past? Would you recommend them? Let us know in the comments below!

In his YouTube video and blog post, young Polish filmmaker Tomasz Walczak explains how he turned his 3-axis gimbal stabilizer into a time lapse motion control system. The results are quite interesting, taking a creative advantage of the 3-axis capabilities to create unique dynamic “twisting” movements thanks to the gimbal’s stabilization.
If you want to try this out, your gimbal stabilizer needs to be based on the Alexmos controller which is used in a wide variety of today’s stabilizers. If you can use the SimpleBGC desktop software or smartphone app to control and setup your gimbal, then congratulations: your gimbal has the right controller.
You can check out a full list of gimbal manufacturers using the SimpleBGC software from BaseCam here. Some of the popular ones are: Easy Stab, Ikan Beholder, Pilotfly, CAME-TV, Kinematik or Letus.
Feeling motivated to further experiment with your gimbal after watching this video? Go ahead and check out Tomasz’s blog post where he explains the whole process in detail. I can imagine taking this concept to a next level by mounting this system to a motorized slider. The movement possibilities would then be almost limitless.
Freefly Akira 5.0 Firmware
Freefly also has a similar Timelapse feature in their MōVi stabilizers with the Akira 5.0 Firmware as we wrote about last year. You can check the demonstration video below:
How do you like the “twisting” movement for timelapse motion control? Have you tried the timelapse feature on your stabilizer? Let us know in the comments below.

We’ve reported about several interesting inventions by Korean manufacturer Varavon before. This time around at Photokina 2016, Varavon introduced their new 3-Axis VR Drone for the first time.
The Varavon 3-Axis VR Drone is a large virtual reality camera platform with a special gimbal design that holds the camera array steady even during fast movements and strong wind. At their booth at Photokina, the guys from Varavon showed us how the gimbal stabilization works. Unfortunately, they were not allowed to fly the drone in the convention center halls or even outside due to drone laws in Germany.
At the moment, the VR Drone market seems very limited. A quick Google search results in several custom built VR Drone setups, but besides one manufacturer there were no other large and commercially available flying platforms with a gimbal like the one Varavon displayed.
According to the sales rep at Photokina 2016, the Varavon 3-Axis VR Drone can take a payload of up to 12kg and has a flying time between 12 and 15 minutes. The cost of $27,000 seems quite high, considering that the M600 is available at under $5k and has a similar size, but with no special VR gimbal, of course. But since this is probably the first drone of its kind, I suppose a higher price is acceptable for those looking to create an aerial VR array with so many cameras.
According to Charlie from Varavon, the drone is “ready to sell now”. The fact that it does not show up on the Varavon website yet might indicate that you have to contact them directly if you’re interested in purchasing this flying crazyness.